Cooking with Carla

Last Thursday night, I made my way up to Bethesda for another cooking class at L'Academie de Cuisine taught by none other than Ms. Hootie-Hoo herself, Top Chef's Carla Hall. What a great night!

It was a class about crusts, and though I'll probably never make the crusts themselves (no KitchenAid mixer and not really much of an interest in baking) I did get some good ideas about the recipes. And my oh my were they tasty! Carla made one savory dish - Micro-Ratatouille Tarts in a Parmesan Crust - and one sweet - a Rustic Mixed Berry Tart with Lemon-Thyme Crumble. Yum, yum, and more yum.

The ratatouille is definitely something I could make myself. While I would make a few changes to Carla's recipe (ie no evil olives) I know she'd be okay with it - she was really great in reminding all of us that we need to make recipes our own, putting our own passions and hearts and favorite things in them. You know, to feel the love...!

Carla was great. She was very personable, approachable, down-to-earth, and really funny. She's got TONS of energy and shared a lot of great stories while she was cooking (supported by the great L'Academie staff). She let people take pictures, but I forgot my darn camera. But she also was more than open to letting us all ask her questions, so much of the 3 hours was spent in a conversation about her cooking, her experiences, and her stories from Top Chef. She does a killer Padma impression that made us all laugh! :-)

I asked her about whether she was going to go to the Emmys (she asked "do you think I'll be invited?" and then we all shared with her the news that the Emmy noms had been announced that day and both the show and its hosts were nominated). I also asked her how she got the name for her company, Alchemy Catering, which has the same name as her cat. It was about looking at the company (and the cat) as something transformative in her life. And, I asked her if she still says "hootie hoo!" in the grocery store. She said she does, but now a lot of people answer her. ;-)

My favorite bit of advice Carla gave us? This one works for cooks and chefs of all levels of talent and expertise: "If you're not in a good mood, the only thing you should make is a reservation."

Balcony Life

Life on the balcony continues to be exciting...


The marigold plants (bush?) are still huge, and are proving to be extremely sensitive to watering. That pot sucks up a lot of water and if I don't fill it up again every morning the plant starts to wilt and droop... but with water, it perks up very quickly.

The rosemary plant is so aromatic I can smell it when I open the door. I used some of the dill yesterday, cutting up several leaves and stems and stirring them in with fat-free sour cream to make a veggie dip. It still needs a little something to be perfect, but the dill was awesome. I'm planning to use some of the basil and parsley in my next big pot of soup. I'd like to use some of the chives soon, too. Everything I've read says that starting to cut the herbs will help them grow more evenly and prolong their usefulness. So, that's the plan.

I'm not quite giving up on the cilantro, cuz the bigger pot is still fairly lush - I should use some of that soon, too. But the little pot of cilantro is totally dead. The thyme's not in great shape, either.

I have totally proven to be my father's daughter in the last few days, as I have spent several hours closely reading a big seed catalog that I sent away for. I'm already thinking about what I want to do on the balcony next year, changing out some of the herbs and probably getting a few bigger pots so I can attempt lettuce and maybe more (non-allergy-rific) flowers. I've also been using the catalog to help identify some of the mysterious things in Dad's garden, and I've sent Mom a copy of one of the pages that described those cool "walking onions" Dad has growing. Who knew that seed catalog would be such a resource?

Now With More Zombie Mayhem

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was so much fun. Like so many people out there, I've known the story of Pride and Prejudice most of my adult life... I first read the book sometime in my late teens or early 20's, I've seen Bridget Jones so many times I could quote from it, and I was surprised at how much I loved the Keira Knightly version of the movie and I even teared up during a few of the more romantic scenes.

So, I walked into reading this with a whole catalogue of mental and visual images of the story of the Bennet family and their suitors. As I read it, I found myself alternating between picturing Keira K. and Colin Firth and so many familiar faces in the story... but what is so great about this version is what's UNFAMILIAR, or "unmentionable."

As the title says, this is the story of Pride and Prejudice set in a world that's both familiar (British romance) and completely new (England's decades-long war against the undead). Fun! Elizabeth and her sisters are no shrinking violets, in fact all 5 of them have been trained as Shaolin warriors and sworn to defend England against the "sorry stricken." But they don't let a little blood and gore get in the way of their romantic pursuits... so the gang's all there, with Wickham, Bingley, and the dashing Mr. Darcy all reporting for duty to sweep those Bennet girls off their feet. (Well, not Wickham.... he's still a jerk in any version.)

If you like the basic story of Elizabeth and Darcy, and if you're a fan of the supernatural like I am, this is a really entertaining, easy book to read. Now, I'm eagerly anticipating Seth Grahame-Smith's next book, which quite possibly could become my favorite book of all time. I've heard rumors of the title: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Bring it!


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Balcony Progress Report

My garden is still doing fairly well, and with one exception seems to have survived my nearly 2 weeks away. The petsitter was watering everything, and I'm grateful that I came back to a still green and thriving balcony.

Here are the little pots of parsley and thyme, still doing mostly okay but looking a little tired of the heat.

The sweet basil looks amazing, and there are still 2 little strawberry plants trying to grow.

These pots all still look good - clockwise from lower left, parsley, daisies, cilantro, chives, and marjoram.



Alas, my little cilantro pot is in bad shape. It was starting to look a little overwhelmed before I left, and I came back to an overtangled, browning mess. I have thinned out a lot of the dead and dying plants, but it's still not looking good. I think it's having a hard time holding up its own weight, and the stalks aren't strong enough to stand up thus they're getting tangled. Any suggestions?



Good news - there are now a few buds on the marigold plant. I can't wait to see these bloom.

Encyclopedic Knowledge

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an enjoyable read. The author, a journalist who's spent his career at Entertainment Weekly and Esquire, decides he needs to do some intellectual heavy lifting to stop the "dumbing down" of his own life. So he sets out to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, A-Z.

Over the course of a year, he does it. He learns a lot about people, history, the world, and also about himself and particularly his relationship with his father and his own thoughts on future fatherhood. The book is organized in alphabetical chapters, as he offers snippets of fun facts about the encyclopedia entries he's reading, reactions from his friends and family to this all-consuming project, and stories from his research into the worlds of Mensa, Jeopardy, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.

Jacobs is funny and thoughtful, and this is a good book to be reading if you're traveling or trying to find a good distraction, because it's easy to just read in little bits and pieces. I give it 4 stars, and I'll probably read his next book about when he read the entire Bible start to finish.


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